Stones, Glass Houses & Moral Judgements

Plenty of football fans would be entitled to have a pop at the Celtic support for their throwing of plastic bottles at Steven Gerrard during the charity match at Anfield last week, but not supporters from within the fan base that sent bombs and bullets to Neil Lennon, MP Trish Godman, QC Paul McBride, Niall McGinn and Paddy McCourt.

Indeed, theRangers faithful have had plenty to say since their former manager dodged a few plastic Carlsberg containers after goading the away fans in a charity match. Strangely, they appear to do so from some sort of morally righteous position. Have they forgotten that one of their own was jailed this week for splitting the Celtic physio’s head open with a glass bottle? Do they not recall Joe Hart’s goalmouth being covered in glass at Ibrox last season? Did the Celtic supporter who was bottled in the away end at Ibrox at New Year slip their memory? Perhaps the police confiscating weapons from the Union Bears ahead of a Glasgow Derby this season also didn’t register… maybe their women’s team Assistant Manager headbutting Fran Alonso wasn’t part of their thinking either.

Who knows?

One thing’s for sure, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. The Celtic support don’t need to be lectured to by a fanbase which has a horrendous track record when it comes to violence.

We know ourselves that throwing missiles is wrong.

About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

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